Problem: Solve for $w$. $-4(w+1) = -24$ $w =$
Explanation: Let's divide and then subtract to get $w$ by itself. $\begin{aligned}-4(w+1) &= -24 \\ \\ \dfrac{-4(w+1)}{{-4}} &= \dfrac{-24}{{-4}} ~~~~~~~\text{divide each side by } {-4}\\ \\ \dfrac{\cancel{-4}(w+1)}{\cancel{{-4}}} &= \dfrac{-24}{{-4}} \\ \\ w+1 &= \dfrac{-24}{{-4}} \end{aligned}$ $\begin{aligned} w +1&= 6 \\ \\ w+1 {-1}&= 6{-1}~~~~{\text{subtract }1} \text{ from each side} \text{ to get } w \text{ by itself }\\ \\ w+\cancel{ 1} {{-}\cancel{{1}}}&= 6{-1}\\ \\ w &=6{-1}\end{aligned}$ The answer: $w={5}~~~~~~~~$ [Let's check our work!]